Vidya Balan was speaking at a book launch in Mumbai
New Delhi:
After Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur withdrew from a protest march against campus violence alleging rape threats, actress Vidya Balan told the press that "everyone has a right to express what they feel," reports news agency PTI. Ms Balan was speaking at a book launch in Mumbai. "I don't want to say much about this. I think what we really need to do is respect people's freedom of expression. 'He said something she said something', all are right in their places. But I don't want to add anything more, everyone has the right to express what they feel," said the 38-year-old star of films like The Dirty Picture, reports PTI. There is no justification for violence, Ms Balan added.
Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia, also speaking at the same event, was more specific in his support of Ms Kaur. "She is an innocent girl, she said something and it's sad all the prominent people are commenting on that. They have made her life difficult. I feel very bad, helpless. If the majority thinks like this I don't think the nation is moving on the right path," Mr Dhulia said, reports PTI.
Gurmehar Kaur, the 20-year-old daughter of a soldier who was killed in 1999, is the focus of controversy on two separate fronts - she allegedly received rape threats after a Facebook post against the BJP-linked youth outfit Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad or ABVP, which is accused of provoking violence at Delhi's Ramjas College; Ms Kaur has also been targeted for a video she made last year in which she holds up a placard reading: "Pakistan did not kill my father, war killed him." Her brand of pacifism has divided social media, with some applauding her and others dismissing her. Cricketer Virender Sehwag was accused of mocking her in a tweet; actor Randeep Hooda, who quoted the tweet, was also denounced and wrote a Facebook post titled 'Don't hang me over a laugh.' Sportspeople like wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and the Phogat sisters have also publicly ranged themselves against Gurmehar Kaur. Yesterday, Ms Kaur announced on Twitter that she was pulling out of a planned protest march, writing: "I have been through a lot and this is all my 20-year-old self could take."
Among the prominent voices that have spoken up for Gurmehar Kaur is lyricist Javed Akhtar, who controversially tweeted that Ms Kaur was being trolled by a 'hardly literate player (and) wrestler' - appearing to refer to Mr Sehwag and Mr Dutt.
In other tweets, actress-director Pooja Bhatt criticized Virender Sehwag and Randeep Hooda, writing: "He who laughs last, laughs alone. Pick on someone your own size, boys. This is not cool." Composer Vishal Dadlani posted a series of tweets in Gurmehar Kaur's defence and comedian Vir Das urged people to report trolls.
(With inputs from PTI)
Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia, also speaking at the same event, was more specific in his support of Ms Kaur. "She is an innocent girl, she said something and it's sad all the prominent people are commenting on that. They have made her life difficult. I feel very bad, helpless. If the majority thinks like this I don't think the nation is moving on the right path," Mr Dhulia said, reports PTI.
Gurmehar Kaur, the 20-year-old daughter of a soldier who was killed in 1999, is the focus of controversy on two separate fronts - she allegedly received rape threats after a Facebook post against the BJP-linked youth outfit Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad or ABVP, which is accused of provoking violence at Delhi's Ramjas College; Ms Kaur has also been targeted for a video she made last year in which she holds up a placard reading: "Pakistan did not kill my father, war killed him." Her brand of pacifism has divided social media, with some applauding her and others dismissing her. Cricketer Virender Sehwag was accused of mocking her in a tweet; actor Randeep Hooda, who quoted the tweet, was also denounced and wrote a Facebook post titled 'Don't hang me over a laugh.' Sportspeople like wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and the Phogat sisters have also publicly ranged themselves against Gurmehar Kaur. Yesterday, Ms Kaur announced on Twitter that she was pulling out of a planned protest march, writing: "I have been through a lot and this is all my 20-year-old self could take."
Among the prominent voices that have spoken up for Gurmehar Kaur is lyricist Javed Akhtar, who controversially tweeted that Ms Kaur was being trolled by a 'hardly literate player (and) wrestler' - appearing to refer to Mr Sehwag and Mr Dutt.
If a hardly literate player or a wrestler troll a pacifist daughter of a martyr its understandable but whats wrong with some educated folks
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) February 28, 2017
In other tweets, actress-director Pooja Bhatt criticized Virender Sehwag and Randeep Hooda, writing: "He who laughs last, laughs alone. Pick on someone your own size, boys. This is not cool." Composer Vishal Dadlani posted a series of tweets in Gurmehar Kaur's defence and comedian Vir Das urged people to report trolls.
(With inputs from PTI)
